With April comes Spring, bringing to mind tulips, pastels, Easter eggs,
fragrant baked goods and chocolate bunnies, not to mention a certain generosity
of spirit. This week we share the inspiration for our Food Fairy design: The Feed The Heart And Soul Fairy Pin.
We received word that a young school girl had been asked what she wished for most in the world. She answered, a food fairy that would bring baskets of food to her door every day. Initially it was her story which brought our attention to the ongoing fight to feed the hungry in America. We decided to create a food fairy to reflect her desire.
Many individuals donate
annually to food charities or participate in food drives at their local supermarkets. We wanted our food fairy to reflect the kindness of these generous and charitable individuals as well.
After researching food drives, hunger relief and even the term “food fairy,” we discovered a wealth of information.
Food drives were once implemented around seasonal holidays, most notably Thanksgiving, but now, one can be a food fairy year round. Most supermarkets run some type of program periodically, which allow you to donate
food to those less fortunate in your community.
Whole
Foods is a member of Feeding America and often offers point of purchase coupons
that allow you to donate one, five, ten or twenty-five dollars to hunger relief
when you pay for your groceries.
Stop
and Shop was able to donate $28 million to local organizations committed to
fighting hunger in 2013 utilizing customer and vendor-associated donations.
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| Food Drive |
Last
year Shaw’s and Star Market’s “Spirit of Giving” food drive donated more than
55,500 bags of food to area hunger relief foundations, thanks to the generosity
of their customers. And their “Turkey Bucks” Thanksgiving program provided
thousands of dinners for those in need on Thanksgiving Day.
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| Nutrition + Education = Health |
Many food donation organizations provide matching funding for educational school
programs, which teach children nutritional value. Farming education programs receive
donations to teach farmers innovative ways to raise food. There are many “backbone” type food-based programs, which receive support via donations from hunger relief organizations. The network is
vast and generally starts one community or food fairy at a time.
We
also learned that the term "food fairy" has been coined to describe individuals
with a love for preparing food. From those who habitually cook and bake
scrumptious recipes for their family and friends—to those who blog quick and easy
recipes to facilitate working moms to swiftly prepare healthy meals
for their families, all are food fairies.
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| Feed the Heart and Soul Fairy Pin |
Inspired by all of the above, we created our colorful, bountiful Feed The Heart And Soul Fairy Pin. Armed with her fork, her fruits and her vegetables, she's out to feed the world.
Come Easter, share the food fairy within you!
What a incredibly inspiring post. Thank you so much for this Helen Kirk. My husband and I just started walking a few miles a day since the weather has improved. We were walking to our library and we noticed a food pantry that will be running in town. Since I have a huge organic garden I told my husband I will be dropping off fresh organic veggies every week at the food pantry. This is something that I could easily do because the food pantry is near and I have a overabundance of fresh vegetables in the Summer that I already give to neighbors, friends, and family with much more to spare so this idea really appeals to me. I am grateful for this blog because it always has me thinking. I grow wild strawberries too and I do not think Shakespeare my giant green Iguana would mind sharing them with folks who are in need. :) You are such a beautiful soul Helen. :) Thank you again for inspiring me. Lanie Alexandria Costeas
ReplyDeleteHi Helen. I actually work for one of the companies you mentioned in your post so your message was especially meaningful to me. One time I packed up boxes for a pantry food drive that was put on by the post office and that was really cool too. Love the idea of the food fairy and the pin is cute. I will probably buy it ift becomes available. Food has become so expensive and the more healthy the food is, sadly, these items tend to be more pricy so it is imperative that good quality food is available for everyone because no one should have to survive on the cheap stuff with all the sugar and preservatives and who knows what else.
ReplyDeletePam M
I used to go to a church that did free Thanksgiving dinners. We gave up our family dinners to feed others in our community. Felt good. The church I go to now helps in a food pantry for our area. These food bank are much needed and appreciated. My daughter goes to one for her son and herself. God bless them who help.
ReplyDeleteLove the pin! Love the meaning behind it! Thank you KF!!! Dawn Iverson aka StormFairy
ReplyDeleteIn our little town, several of the church's get together on Thurs. evenings and make up food sacks for school children to take home over the weekend to make sure they get to eat.It is so hard to believe that in this country, we still having hungry people. Thanks for helping shine the light on this ongoing problem.
ReplyDeleteForgot to put my nickname on my above post. It's Connie's Wild Ideas...Yes, there is a story behind it. :)
DeleteI love everything about this...truly God inspired. Our soup kitchen at St. Francis feeds the homeless weekly. What a wonderful gift this would be to those who cook and serve!
ReplyDeleteIt's important to remember that hunger knows no season. I donate throughout the year. It's sad to know that there are still those, in our great country, that still go to bed hungry. Every time I shop for groceries, I put a little extra in my basket for those who need it. I don't see the difference in my shopping budget, but I am glad that my purchase makes a difference, Jennifer Jacob
ReplyDeleteI agree with you so much, Jennifer. if each of us donated a little something even just a can of soup, when we shop, it would make a big difference. The large donations are ,impoitant, but the steady donations from each of us can go a very long way.
DeleteI love this post helen. It gave me goose bumps when reading about the little girl that wanted the food fairy to bring her food. It makes me sad how now of days people seem to take everyday things for granted. xoxo Sarah
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that people are still hungry in this day and age! What a nice thing to do!! We do take everything for granted !! I agree!!!
ReplyDeleteMy company allows the employees to work a few times a year at the Maryland Food Bank for the last several years. It is eye opening to see the need for food in our state. It is shameful that any child in the USA goes to bed hungry. Thank you for shedding light on this issue with your creativity.
ReplyDelete